South Africa men's player ratings | Dubai SVNS

Champions in Dubai for the fifth straight year, the South Africa Sevens men were on a mission to kickstart the brand-new SVNS series and would not be denied an historic opening-round win.

South African fans can only hope for the same success this coming weekend when the circuit stops in Cape Town, with tickets on sale for the event now.

South Africa played true to their DNA and were exceptional on the defensive end throughout the tournament, holding their opponents to just one try in each of the knockout rounds.

Influential Blitzboks captain Selvyn Davids was crowned Player of the Match in the final and led his team through a superb campaign, claiming the first-ever men’s Dubai SVNS gold medal.

South Africa player ratings

Selvyn Davids (c) – 9/10

The captain possesses a lethal step which set up the opening try of the final. A wonderful playmaker, giving a pearler pass after a subtle burst of acceleration to draw the second defender to set up the final’s second try too. Davids’ playmaking was exceptional throughout the weekend, pulling strings all over the field and he was especially lethal when running plays down the blindside, often linking with his two big props down the wing.

Davids was ambitious with his kicking game all weekend, sometimes it came off as a stroke of magic, like his short grubber kick-off against New Zealand which was recovered by a flying Ronald Brown, and other times it cost his side, like when he missed touch after Argentina handed South Africa a penalty just seconds into the final. With every kick off, the captain’s eyes were constantly on the swivel trying to spot opportunities, which speaks to his attitude as a player.

Davids’ tackling around the bootlaces was also impressive all weekend, especially a dramatic last-gasp effort in the corner in the quarter-final to deny Australia.

The @Blitzboks can’t be stopped 😱

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Will they go back to back in Cape Town next weekend?#HSBCSVNS | #HSBCSVNSDXB

— HSBC SVNS (@SVNSSeries) December 3, 2023

Quewin Nortje – 8.5

Nortje had moments of absolute brilliance in the wide channels and also in the middle, where his anticipation, timing and rugby IQ make him a real threat when picking moments to rush forward and make the defensive play.

The rookie showed his superstar pace on both sides of the ball all weekend, including a superb scoring effort against New Zealand. He was caught indecisive at the kick-off in the quarter-final, allowing Australia to reclaim the ball in a rare moment that showed his youth.

Ryan Oosthuizen – 6

Oosthuizen provided the muscle when needed up the middle all tournament long for the South Africans. He was aggressive in defence but discipline and execution let him down around the ruck occasionally and his handling wasn’t perfect, but nothing that cost his side too heavily. Some really nice decision-making and execution saw his distribution in the middle of the field contribute well.

Made his presence felt when challenging the kickoffs that came down the right side of the field. Of course, a yellow card in the final for a late hit did see the Argentinians strike back, but he steadied the ship once returning to the field and safely claimed the final lineout of the game which allowed his team to run the clock out.

Impi Visser – 7.5

Visser’s strength in his running game was highlighted for the first try of the final, where he stayed on his feet while dragging an Argentinian defender just long enough to get the ball over the line.

Was caught running high by New Zealand’s defence but stayed in the fight as the Kiwis looked for the maul turnover and eventually got an offload away that resulted in a try one phase later.

In classic South African form, it was a scrum penalty that sealed the deal in the semi-final, and it was Visser who won it for them, drawing an uneven Fijian challenge.

Shilton Van Wyk – 9

Pace and ambition are two words that sum up Shilton Van Wyk’s Dubai campaign, as the winger burned players across the field with the ball in hand and frequently won the races as both a chaser and supporter to boost his team. He very rarely failed to make the extra effort plays and recovered well after a hard fall against Samoa.

His biggest moments pin the final proved he had pace to burn while finish the second try of the match and then an audacious and ambitious chip and chase which sat up for his countryman. Van Wyk proved a difficult tackler to shake, with incredible balance to stay on his feet while getting bumped or fended and then put in the second effort hunting at the breakdown with a strong base.

Van Wyk was picked out by the Argentinians in the final when they set up a mismatch off the kick-off, putting a bigger body in Van Wyk’s channel, getting the desired result as the Argentinians won the contest for the ball.

Justin Geduld – 8

Geduld proved to be an opportunistic player, quick to pounce on any opportunity, whether it be a snipe around the breakdown or holding a player up on defence.

The flyhalf struggled to secure the breakdown against bigger bodies, leading to a turnover and try against New Zealand. The Kiwis would then recognise the opportunity any time Geduld was over the ball and make life difficult for the Boks. But, his kicking was the difference in that win over New Zealand to top the pool.

Geduld was energetic and active around the ruck defensively and made good first-up efforts to slow down the attack, but was guilty of dropping off tackles without completing them and got caught on the wrong side of the ruck once or twice. Received a yellow card in the quarter-final.

Rosko Specman – 7.5

“Specmagic” still has plenty of pace and skill to burn at 34 years young, and produced some vintage moments in Dubai. The veteran however did struggle to make an impact early in the final, knocking the ball on in a key attacking opportunity in the first half and then having a defensive read squandered by a whistle. He made the most of his limited opportunities in the second period though with subtle winning plays.

A dramatic dive for the corner was sadly pushed wide by desperate Argentinian defence in what could have ben the try of the tournament.

Ronald Brown – 8

Brown provided the X-factor off the bench that was needed against New Zealand, scoring a try and setting up another while nailing both conversions to steal the win. The sweeper was patient and explosive on attack but his skill execution saw some passes go awry.

Brown was aggressive defensively, backing his pace and being a pest around the scrum.

Zain Davids – 7.5

The big man featured prominently throughout the weekend and provided big muscle while proving his agility and fitness is more than up to SVNS standard. The prop was hard to evade as a defender and hard to stop close to the line.

Christie Grobbelaar – 7

Grobbelaar has been ruled out of the Cape Town leg of the circuit after picking up an injury in Dubai.

His fine form was on full display in the pool stages, where the youngster’s size and pace delivered a try against Samoa after collecting the ball with no space ahead of him.

Masande Mtshali – 7

Ran some great support lines in his limited minutes.

Dewald Human – 6

Dedicating this tournament to his late sister, the win would have meant that much more to Dewald Human.

The shortest member of this Blitzboks team played with heart in his limited minutes on the field, showing off his incredible crisp passing but not always making the right play and struggling to tackle the bigger bodies who sought him.